what exactly does placing a dollar bill over the exhaust pipe show? if it occasionaly sucks in is that a bad valve? (exahust) what will happen if you continue to run it? it just started running rought at idle today. and i thought it sounded a litle different. could a bad spark plug or wire cause these symptoms? i had planned on driving it to thanksgiving tommmorow. could i?
I just that was one of those things you stood around and watched your uncles do at family gatherings when they tried to make each other think they knew something about cars. At least that was the case when I was about five.
.........At a strip joint...you stick one dollar bills down a womans underwear.....why would you want to stick money up your cars exhaust?....Man....you have been out in the garage to long.....
I missed you guys. well, I will step up. it means much about nothing. even with true dual exhaust, you are gonna have some suction during the overlap period during exhaust pulses. hell "negative exhaust pressure" is why they sold 10 billion flowmasters. so, in theory, yer gonna have a stinky dollar bill in yer wallet...and not much else. add a balance tube, or an x-pipe, and it would negate the effects all together. I think.
It means you have money to burn. And you can't drive it to Thanksgiving Tomorrow ~ Thanksgiving is the day after
With what the dollar is worth these days I doubt the test would show you anything.You would need to use at least a 50. Seriously though......... I agree with LUX BLUE.
The only dollar bill test i know of thats car related is where you place one on the dash with a small piece of tape.(usually a bet and the stakes are higher than a dollar) and when you yell GO and nail it the passenger tries to get his back out of the seat to get the bill. a launch test if you will. like...I bet you 20 bucks you cant get that $20 when i yell go!
Only one I've heard of is the dollar bill check to see if your door is closing against the weather-stripping evenly. Nothing involving the exhaust thou. X2 on the negative exhaust pulses.
In the days of low comp, 4-6 :1, engines with lazy cams, that would tell you about some engine conditions like leaky valves and miss fires. You could accomplish the same thing by placing your hand over the pipe, which in fact that was a better way because you could feel the pulse, as it were, of the engine. You ol man isn't full of it , just 70 years out of date.
I used to like to do that one in my old 70 Barracuda. That 440 would suck you right back in the seat. The guys had to pay up in cash. The gals had more flexible payment options
If you are curious about the condition of your engine, I would get a vacuum gauge and put it to good use and if you have access to a compression tester & leak tester, do both...
It's Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody... and other dumb things you and your friends did to pass the time. Gary
The last thing that sucked any dollars of mine up....I divorced it... Best investment yet...in my sanity anyways I was always told that if the exhaust sucked a dollar up in it you had at least one burnt valve. As far as driving you car...depends on how far your going and how bad its running and if you are planning on doing a complete overhaul soon anyway. What type of engine you running/do you need to be using a lead substitute/how many miles... You know the drill...
All I remember about the dollar bill is back in the day the police used it to measure windshield height,,not sure if it is fact but defiantly part of folklore. HRP
I've seen people do the same thing with the dollar over the exaust. I suppose it would show a bad valve, but, then again, if the valve is that bad, you would know it anyway.